


Now Would Be a Great Time

by Bellamy_goddamn_Blake



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bellamy is a nerd, Clarke can't handle her feelings, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 22:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15851100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellamy_goddamn_Blake/pseuds/Bellamy_goddamn_Blake
Summary: Clarke is a struggling art student working in a coffee shop to get by. Bellamy is trying to write his history thesis and goes to the coffee shop cause it’s quiet and close to his apartment. If only Clarke could work up the courage to talk to him.





	Now Would Be a Great Time

Clarke had been working at the _Screaming Beans_ coffee house for about two months and honestly couldn't complain. It was good hours, and the management was cool about working around her study schedule and so far none of the people that she worked with were dicks. Well, Murphy could be a dick sometimes, but Clarke could always tell that he meant well. She mostly hung out with the other barista Lincoln when they were on shifts together, he was a beginner tattoo artist, and since she was a struggling art student, they spent a lot of time talking about art and their differing styles. Clarke had even started helping him outside of work with some of his designs since he was still struggling with figuring out how to put his ideas to paper. All in all, it was a pretty sweet setup, and she still considers herself lucky that she managed to land the job in the first place.

Clarke had just finished up a four-hour shift with Lincoln and was getting ready to leave when _he_ walked in. Clarke's mystery guy. Murphy just loved to tease her about her monster crush on mystery guy ever since he first came into the coffee house 2 weeks ago. Clarke had been avoiding relationships lately, since her brief but intense fling with Lexa had crashed and burned last summer. But this guy had Clarke seriously reconsidering her views on relationships. He looked as if he was about her age, maybe a little bit older, with messy brown curls and the most beautiful constellation of freckles on his face that Clarke had ever seen. Every time she sees him she has to stop herself from reaching for her sketchbook, the urge to draw him getting stronger with each visit. He hasn't noticed her though. He always either has his face buried in what looks like textbooks or his laptop, glasses almost falling off his face with the intensity with which he works.

Today he looked particularly good, wearing a dark red henley with the sleeves rolled up revealing his _amazing_ arms. Clarke almost drops her bag when she sees him, barely catching it at the last second and knocking over a chair in the process. Looking up she notices him staring at her, obviously trying not to laugh. _Great,_ she thinks, _the first time he notices me, and it's when I'm being an absolute spaz._ She straightens up, clutching her bag to her chest and hurries towards the door, throwing a brief _see ya later_ to Lincoln as she makes her escape.

 

She's about halfway back to her apartment, cheeks still burning with mortification, when her phone rings. She looks briefly at the caller ID, unsurprised to see her best friends name staring back at her.

"Hey Rey, what's up?" Clarke had known Raven for about 2 years, ever since they been assigned as roommates in their first year of college. They had been inseparable ever since and Clarke honestly didn't know where she'd be without Raven.

“Jasper and Monty were thinking about having a games night and I told them I’d check to see if you wanted to come.” Clarke bit back a groan, as much as she loved her friends game nights she had a mountain of work to do at home and two assignments due within the week. She was just figuring out how to let Raven down gently when the brunette in question spoke up again, “And before you say that you’re to busy or have way too much work to do let me remind you that you skipped out on drinks last week and you owe us.”

Letting out a sigh Clarke switched her phone to the other ear so she could hike up her bag. "Fine but I can't stay too long. Intro to historical art is kicking my butt this semester and I have to ace this paper."

"Yes, yes fine. I promise to keep the boys in check so you can be home before your carriage turns into a pumpkin."

"Hah. You're hilarious." Clarke deadpanned, "I'll see you in 40. I gotta go home and change out of my work clothes first."

"Don't be late Cinderella." And with that Raven hung up and Clarke resigned herself to yet another night of not getting any work done.

 

Clarke was nearly bowled over by a human cannonball in the form of Jasper when she arrived at the flat he shared with Monty later that night.

“Clarke! You made it! Monty pay up, she showed.”

"Dammit, you'd think I'd have learnt my lesson betting against you," Monty grumbled as Clarke watched him hand over 5 bucks.

"You guys bet about whether I'd show?" Clarke pretended to be hit in the chest, falling back into Jasper semi-dramatically. "Oof low blow."

Jasper leant over and pulled Clarke in for a one-armed hug. "Aww we're just kidding Clarkey, you know we love you. We've just missed you lately."

“Ugh, I know, I’m sorry. School has been kicking my ass lately. Not to mention all the extra shifts I’ve had to pick up lately since, well, _you know_.”

"Shit Clarke, is your mom still not talking to you?" Raven exclaims, emerging from the kitchen. "That's ridiculous. I thought it would blow over by now. So what if you decided you wanted to be an artist instead of going to med school? Big whoop. No offence but your mom is a bitch."

Clarke sighed internally. She knew that when she decided not to pursue medicine that her mother would be disappointed. But she never thought that her mom would actually cut her off and refuse to speak to her. Especially after everything that had happened in the past year. She always thought that despite all the difficulties she and her mother's relationship had, she would still always be there for Clarke. She was wrong.

"Let's not talk about this. I've pretty much resigned myself to not getting any study done tonight so who's up for some drinking?" That seemed to be the magic words to get everybody into action as Jasper and Monty grinned and ran to the kitchen to grab the drinks and snacks while Raven dragged Clarke over to the couch.

“So”, Raven started as they got settled on the couch. “Have you seen much of hot nerdy guy lately?”

“Please don’t remind me. I saw him today and made a complete ass of myself.”

“Uh oh, what did you do?”

"Forgot how to human. He came in when I was finishing up and I almost dropped my bag and in my attempt to catch it almost fell over my feet and knocked over a chair. When I looked up, I could see him trying not to laugh. I swear Rey, it was _mortifying_."

Raven snorted and patted Clarke’s hand. “Please, I doubt it was that bad. You’re probably just reading into things. He probably found it cute.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. I’m gonna have to quit my job and go into hiding.”

Raven didn't get a chance to reply as Monty and Jasper came bounding back into the room. Jasper flopped down half onto the couch and half onto Clarke. "So Clarke have I told you that I'm in love?"

“No? And pray tell who are you in love with?”

“This girl in my English lecture, I swear she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” Raven coughs and pretends to look offended. “Except for you ladies of course.” Jasper finished with a grin.

Raven scoffed, "Nice save Jas."

“Anyway back on track. I’m in love with her and I’ve invited her here tonight. So please guys don’t embarrass me.”

“And what’s the name of this girl?” Questioned Clarke, smiling as Monty handed her a beer.

"Her name's Octavia. She and her brother just transferred to Ark U last month. Oh yeah, she said that she was gonna bring her brother along just in case I turned out to be a serial killer and am using this games night as an excuse to kidnap and kill her." Jasper noticed the looks from his friends. "What? Her words, not mine."

Everyone was saved from replying by a knock at the door.

“Oh my god, oh my god, she’s here. Quick Monty answer the door so I don’t look desperate.”

Monty rolled his eyes but got up to do what Jasper asked, knowing that there was no point arguing with him. Making Jasper see sense was often a lost cause. Monty opened the door to reveal a gorgeous brunette behind it. This must be Jaspers mystery love Octavia, Clarke thought. She indeed seemed like Jaspers type; dark, fierce and out of Jaspers league. Before Clarke had time to dwell on the new girl too much she moved aside and Clarke felt her heart stop in her chest.

_Oh my fucking god_ , she thought, _it’s him. What the hell is he doing here?_

Clarke saw Raven look at her quizzically when she saw her reaction to their new guests. She leaned in close and whispered “What’s up with you Clarke? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Clarke could barely keep herself together but she managed to lean back against her friend. “It’s the mystery guy.” She hissed. “From work. He’s fucking here.”

Raven raised her eyebrows as she looked at Clarke's mystery guy up and down. "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said he was hot. If you don't tap that then I will."

Clarke was about to reply when she realised that Jasper was talking. "-and I'm so happy that you came tonight Octavia. See, I promised you that I wasn't a serial killer. These are my friends. Monty, aka my other half, but no homo. Raven, the smartest woman you'll ever meet who could also kill you in your sleep. And Clarke, she's our mom friend who's also a kickass artist with a tragic backstory." Clarke rolled her eyes as he finished with a flourish towards his friends.

“Uh hey everyone, I’m Octavia as I’m sure you’ve been told. And this brooding guy is my older brother Bellamy. He’s socially awkward and a nerd so excuse him if he doesn’t talk much.

“Gee thanks O, really feeling the love.”

Clarke couldn’t help but stare. _Bellamy._ So that was his name. She couldn't believe that he was actually here in front of her. And of course, he had to be here on the day that she had humiliated herself in front of him. Honestly, her luck had been so shit lately that she wasn't even remotely surprised by this turn of events. She could see Bellamy and Octavia making their way further into the room, could feel Bellamy's eyes on her and she just couldn't handle it.

“You know what? I don’t think we have enough snacks. I’m gonna go to the kitchen and get some more.” She said, suddenly standing up and all but sprinting from the room before anyone had a chance to reply. She never saw Bellamy’s gaze following her.

 

Standing in the kitchen, Clarke felt like an idiot. She was Clarke fucking Griffin for christ's sake. She had more guts than this. She didn't run scared from her problems. But after everything that had happened in the last few months; what with the blowout with her mom, completely changing majors and having to figure out how to provide for herself, Clarke had lost a lot of her bravado.

"Hey."

Clarke whirled around at the sound of a voice behind her, almost falling over  _again_ at the sight of Bellamy standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." He said, stepping further into the room. "I just wanted to come and introduce myself. You work at the _Screaming Beans_ right? I’ve seen you there a couple of times.”

_Oh crap,_ Clarke thought, _he recognised her_. What she said out loud was, “Uh, yeah I do. I’ve, uhm, seen you there a couple times as well. I’m Clarke.”

"I know. I've been wanting to introduce myself for a while." _Wait, what?_ "I just hadn't figured out how yet. What are the chances that I would get my shot tonight huh?" Bellamy smiled as he went and leaned against the counter next to her. Clarke couldn't understand how he could make a simple movement look so good. It wasn't fair.  

“You’ve been wanting to talk to me?”

“Yeah,” Bellamy blushed, “I thought you were pretty cute when I first saw you but as my sister said I’m not the best socially so I didn’t know the right way to tell you.”

"That's a pretty good start. Honestly, I didn't even realise you knew I existed. You always seem so busy with your work."

Bellamy reached up to scratch the side of his head. “Yeah I’ve got my thesis due in a month so I’ve been pretty focused on that. Truth be told I was waiting till after I was done to talk to you.”

Clarke tried not to look too pleased at that and instead tried to stay casual. "What's your thesis about?"

"The impact and influence Greek mythology has had on today's society. It's really not that interesting."

"Wow, your sister was right. You are a nerd... Not that that's a bad thing," Clarke carried on when she could see Bellamy looking embarrassed. "Nerds are pretty hot nowadays. I mean, not that I'm saying you're hot. Well, I'm not, _not_ saying that you're hot. Which, well, please just shoot me now so I can stop talking." Clarke stuttered, trying to look anywhere but Bellamy. She glanced over however when she heard him chuckling beside her.

"Hey, I called you pretty. I don't think you should be embarrassed for calling me hot."

“Yeah but pretty is like, well, you’d call a flower pretty but that doesn’t mean you want to make out with one. Not that I’m saying that you want to make out with me. It’s just that ‘pretty’ can be objective.”

“Okay, then I find you extremely hot. The first time I saw you I almost spilt hot coffee all over myself and my laptop. Does that make you feel better?”

“It does a little bit, actually.”

Bellamy shook his head ruefully. “You’re not gonna let me off easy are you?”

"Sorry, I don't mean it to seem that way. However, I've already embarrassed myself in front of you today, so I think it's only fair."

“What do you mean?” Bellamy asked, looking confused.

“I literally tripped over my own feet today when I saw you come into the coffee shop.”

“I didn’t think it was embarrassing. I actually thought it was kinda cute how flustered you got. Made me think that I had a shot.”

“Damn, Raven was right. I shouldn’t be surprised, she always is.”

“Is she? What was she right about?”

“That you’d find my clumsiness cute.” Clarke knew she had said something wrong when she saw Bellamy smirk. “What?”

“You’ve been talking to your friends about me?”

Clarke felt her blush spread all the way to her neck. “Shut up.”

“You must think I’m hot then. If you’ve been going on and on to your friends about your interactions with me.”

"Maybe I was complaining about how much of an annoying customer you are, huh? Did you think about that?"

“Except I know I’m not an annoying customer, ergo, you must have been talking about how flustered I make you.”

"Oh my gosh, who even uses words like ‘ergo'?"

“This nerd who you think is hot.”

"Okay that's it, I'm out." Clarke huffed as she pushed herself up from the counter and turned to leave. Bellamy reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. Clarke swore she felt a burst of electricity go up her arm at the contact.

“Wait. I didn’t mean to tease you like that. Please don’t go.”

Clarke couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She felt rooted to the spot. The feeling of Bellamy's hand on her arm, thumb now rubbing small circles into it, had rendered her dumbfounded. She had never felt this kind of connection before. Not even with Lexa and that relationship had been really intense. She slowly turned back around to Bellamy, looking down at where his hand was on her. Bellamy seemed to realise what he was doing and released her arm. Clarke immediately missed the contact.

"Sorry, I'm overreacting. It's just been a difficult last few months, more like year really. I don't have much patience lately." Clarke absentmindedly rubbed her arm where he had touched her.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it’s like to have a shit time. You want to talk about it?”

Clarke gave him a watery smile. “You barely even know me. Why do you care?”

“I- Well-” Bellamy didn’t really seem to have an answer. “I don’t know, I guess I just do.”

It seemed to be good enough for Clarke who hopped up on the counter, ignoring the fact that if Bellamy were to step forward, he would be between her legs.

"My dad died last year. Car accident. He meant everything to me. My mom and I never had the best relationship, she was always pushing me to be who she wanted me to be. My dad was the one who always supported what I wanted to do. I was pre-med at the time, being a doctor had been my mom's choice for me since I was little. And I guess I liked it okay, but it wasn't what I was passionate about. I'd always loved art since I was little and my dad had always encouraged me to pursue it, but I didn't want to disappoint my mom."

Bellamy had moved closer to her as she talked, hands now resting on either side of her thighs on the counter. "I found out that my dad died because he got distracted and accidentally ran a red light. He was distracted because he and my mom had been having a fight on the phone. My mom had decided that she was tired of him encouraging me to be an artist. That it was time for me to grow up and be responsible, to stop chasing a career that I would never succeed in. If my mom hadn't been fighting with him, then he wouldn't have been distracted, and maybe he'd still be…"

Clarke trailed off as she felt herself shake, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to keep the tears at bay. Bellamy rushed forward the last few inches of space between them and pulled her in for a hug. She rested her face in the crook of his neck and tried to control her breathing. His hand came up and buried itself in her hair, pulling her closer.

“I’m so sorry Clarke, that’s terrible. I know how difficult it is to lose a parent.”

"When I found out about my mom," Clarke mumbled into his neck, "I got so mad. I dropped out of pre-med and switched to an art major. Partly to piss off my mom but mostly because I know that's what my dad always envisioned me doing. I guess I wanted to honour his memory. When my mom found out, she cut me off and hasn't spoken to me since. That's why I'm working at the coffee shop."

Bellamy pulled back to look at her. "What happened with your dad, it was horrible. And with your mom too. But you don't know what would have happened if your mom hadn't fought with your dad. He may have still gotten into the accident. Dwelling on things like that only leads to more pain. Trust me I know."

"God I must look a mess," Clarke said as she rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry for just unloading all that on you. I think it had been building up for a while."

"Hey, you don't have to apologise. I would hate to think that you were walking around feeling like this with no one to talk to. And I'll never complain about having a pretty, no sorry, _hot_ girl in my arms.”

Clarke blushed as realised the position her and Bellamy were in. He was standing right between her legs, barely any space between them. She could easily lift up her legs and wrap them around his waist. But she didn't, as tempting as the thought may be. It probably wasn't an appropriate thing to do to a guy she just met. She could feel the intensity of Bellamy's gaze, could feel the sincerity and heat in the way he looked at her. Before Clarke knew what was happening Bellamy was leaning in, making her freeze as she felt his lips meet hers. She soon snapped out of it though, leaning into the kiss and wrapping her arms around Bellamy's neck. Clarke had kissed plenty of people in her life, but this felt different. Kissing Bellamy was like nothing she had ever experienced. His lips were soft, tender, yet firm and they moved against her in a way that would have made her go weak in the knees if she wasn't sitting already. Bellamy tilted her head, deepening the kiss and Clarke swore that she wanted to spend the rest of her life kissing Bellamy. Stars bounced around behind her eyelids as she melted into him. Before the kiss could get any more intense, however, they were interrupted.

"I knew it!" They pulled away, startled, to see Raven standing in the doorway smirking triumphantly. "I told you that if we left them alone long enough that they would make out Monty. Pay up."

"Man today is really not my day." Monty could be heard saying from the next room. Raven ran back out gleefully, probably to collect on her bet. Clarke resisted the urge to hide her face in Bellamy's chest, god when would today's embarrassment end? Bellamy chuckled and pulled her closer. He seemed unfazed by their interruption.

"Well, you were right about that."

“About what?” Clarke asked, looking up.

"Raven is right about everything." They both laughed quietly, neither making a move to separate.

“I’m never gonna live this down.”

Bellamy smiled fondly at her. “So now would be a good time to ask you out right?”

Clarke couldn’t help but grin.

_Oh yeah,_ she thought, _now would be a great time._

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this was my first ever fanfic! Please let me know what you guys think. It's currently a one-shot but if you guys like it then I might explore some more of Clarke and Bellamy's story, like their first date or maybe something from Bellamy's pov when he first sees Clarke. Please leave a comment or kudos so I know your thoughts- constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks for reading :)


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